Sectarian Differences In Lebanon Being Transcended By Crisis

The Lebanese people -- suffering hundreds of civilian deaths from Israeli attacks -- are not reacting to the pressure in the way that was expected by the architects of the air war.

Lebanese citizens, including the Maronite Christians and Sunnis, instead of condemning Hezbollah for causing the pain that they are enduring, are increasingly supporting the Shiite political-military force that drove the Israelis out of their country in 2000.

Lebanon's politics are often oversimplistically broken down by its religious sects. They do create the outlines of public opinion, and the leaders themselves sometimes command blind loyalty. But within each grouping, there is still a great deal of diversity that transcends religious loyalties....

Followers of Christian leader Michel Aoun have been some of the most active in providing aid to displaced Shiite Muslims, coordinating with Hezbollah's own relief efforts. Across the country, nonsectarian grass-roots groups have mobilized to provide help in shows of national unity.

In cities such as Sidon, Sunni clerics have urged a jihad, or holy war, that goes beyond Hezbollah in confronting Israel, and recoil at what they see as the overly close ties of the community's leadership to the United States. "Fighting is the natural state of relations with the Zionist enemy until it is wiped out," declares a banner in a Sunni neighborhood in Sidon. There, one of the most radical of the Sunni groups, often at odds with Hezbollah, has deployed 500 activists to help resettle 8,000 displaced Shiites.

What many Americans (including U.S. government officials) do not know is that Hezbollah less like a Hamas-type Islamic fundamentalist group, but is closer to a nationalist group with goals similar to nationalist groups everywhere.

There are even Christian members of Hezbollah. I bet President Bush doesn't know that.

America's Muslim "allies" -- the Sunni states Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia --are becoming more active with a novel pan-Muslim approach.

The United States' Arab allies -- Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt -- initially blamed Hezbollah for the violence, calling its seizure of the soldiers miscalculated adventures. But a high civilian death toll, widespread destruction in Lebanon and strong popular support for Hezbollah have forced a shift in their stance....

Saudi Arabia dispatched its top diplomats to Washington to press for a cease-fire, and when that failed, issued a strongly worded statement warning of the possibility of a wider regional conflict if Israel refused to exchange Arab land for peace and relations with Arab states.

On Tuesday, the Saudi king pledged $1.5 billion to support Lebanon's economy and fund rebuilding efforts.

Jordan sent a field hospital and medical supplies to Beirut this week, and its monarch, King Abdullah, has said he would "employ all of Jordan's capabilities to reach a cease-fire" and reduce the suffering caused by the "continued Israeli aggression.

Hezbollah, emerging as the new champion of the Palestinians, has managed, for the most part, to close sectarian ranks and win the support of Sunni majorities in most Arab countries.

An energized pan-Muslim movement would be an ominous development for the United States. The only loyalty any of these countries have toward the U.S. comes from the largesse that we bestow upon Egypt and Jordan, and the business relationship with the Saudis.

The domestic political considerations of these regimes (keeping the "Arab street" pacified) will always take precedence if push comes to shove.

And with events in the region deteriorating daily, push is quickly coming to shove.

The coming week will be crucial to defusing the crisis, and with Israel reportedly needing another "two weeks" of American political cover, a timely diplomatic solution is not looking likely.